Expectations
by Bane Candy
Summary: "Because," she said as she made her way toward the door, only turning back once to give him that same smile. "You wouldn't be making something you didn't intend to try for yourself. And you never fail to exceed your own expectations." -5x7, Pre-Movie-


He wasn't sure of the exact moment he started feeling it. He didn't know what he should do or what it meant. But he knew what caused it, he was certain. And he knew that he didn't mind.

It had been a great deal of time since then, since they had met and since he had lost his optic. It was always a distraction to him at first. Though he was only alive for a short time, a few days in fact, the loss of his optic was so sudden and such a large change that he was unable to keep his mind off of everything that happened.

But... when he slept he saw the world through two optics, not just one. When he turned and went to grab an object he miscalculated the distance and often missed it completely or ended up hitting whatever it rested on which his fingers.

More often than not, he found his hand resting on the leather patch that covered the left side of his face. The movement was something that he never managed to notice until his fingers began to tease the foreign part of his face.

Much of his time was spent alone, or with 2, tinkering in his workshop or reading the vast amount of books either in the cathedral or at the nearby library. He rarely spent time anywhere else, except the watch tower when he was ordered to by 1. He didn't feel like he was needed anywhere else. He wasn't... as useful, without two optics after all.

Nothing was positive about this change, not to him. Not when he had to be careful not to walk into door frames and his companions when passing them in the cathedral halls. At least, not until he failed to hear someone entering the workshop he and 2 shared as he put all of his effort into focusing on another project.

"If 1 could focus like that on something other than himself, I wouldn't give him any trouble," a female voice, the voice of the only female in their family. Well, the only one that could speak anyway.

5 was startled enough to almost drop what he was working on, but managed to keep a grip on it long enough to set it down, looking at 7 with the weakest glower any stitchpunk could ever manage. "Don't sneak up on me like that, 7...:

"I didn't sneak up on you," she retorted with a playful smirk. "You were just too focused on your..." She narrowed her eyes, looking down at his contraption. "What is that, exactly?"

"A crossbow," 5 answered, frowning. "At least, that's what it is going to be. This is just the handle."

"Crossbow, huh? Finally making a weapon for yourself?"

Confusion ran through 5 for a moment before he was able to reply. "7, I can't use a crossbow. I have one optic and no depth perception, how would I shoot it? Besides, this is just a test, to see how well I can build something by optic and guesswork."

7 frowned, looking as if the answer was obvious, arms crossed loosely over her chest. "You're the second smartest person here, next to 2, no matter what 1 says. I've seen you go through the human math textbooks as easily as the twins go through their fairy tales. And I've seen you see things that none of us catch, you have an incredible eye for detail and you're able to calculate how far away something is faster than 8 manages to rush up and smash it. You can use a crossbow as good as any of us."

5 failed to see how this would help him fire his crossbow, and that must have been clear in his expression because 7 let out a soft, frustrated sigh.

"You may be smart with an eye for detail, but you need to learn how to read people better," she said. "Use your math skills to calculate where your target is, then you can use your crossbow yourself. 8 does it all the time, if he can do it so can you."

"But 8 has two optics," 5 argued, his hand coming up to brush the leather patch once.

"He also has the attention to detail of a rock," 7 said, but there was no venom or malice toward the other punk for this, and her smile helped 5 realize that she was mostly exaggerating.

But he knew she was right, in a way. 8 was never able to catch the enemies at a far distance, at least not once that he had not already noticed. 1 had taken advantage of 5's attention to detail and stationed him in the watch tower. He didn't mind, he loved looking over the emptiness, and knowing that he only needed to look through their telescope with his one optic... well, that helped a bit he supposed.

Placing a hand on 5's shoulder, 7 gave him a smile. It was soft, but different from the smiles she often gave to everyone but 1 and 8, which were normally either filled with sarcasm or a challenge (though with 8 it was more good natured than with 1). He'd never seen one so... gentle on her. "You can. If you put your mind to it I know you can."

"... why... do you think so, 7?" He asked, feeling his gears jump a bit.

"Because," she said as she made her way toward the door, only turning back once to give him that same smile. "You wouldn't be making something you didn't intend to try for yourself. And you never fail to exceed your own expectations."

She was right, of course. He did intend to test the crossbow himself. And yes, he did tend to exceed his own expectations. But... no. He wanted to think that he wouldn't be able to do it, but somehow her words dug into him, latched onto his processor.

She was there, the day he finished the crossbow and made to present it to 1. She watched as he took aim, concentrated on the large target he had set up, and managed to hit it without any effort. It was so easy when he focused on it, when he paid attention to the details.

She was there to give him that same smile, as 1 looked on in shock. But this time, it had a different feel. One of someone who had their expectations met and exceeded before them.

After that, he was often taken on scouting missions, he trained with the others to improve his aim, spending more and more time with 7. Feeling his gears rush or catch at awkward times. He found himself wanting to spend less time cooped up in his workshop and more time outside, more time with the others. More time with her. He felt... he felt useful.

He felt like he had a place.

And he had 7 to thank for that. 


End file.
